Saturday, February 12, 2011

Nothing says action-packed sci-fi excitement like shopping for groceries at Food-2-Go, but that's exactly what we did today.

We had my three girls and the boy from next door for a session of Savage Worlds. I was pleased that I didn't have to initiate the session or pull them all together; my girls came home from gymnastics and asked right away if we could invite the neighbors over for some RPG. I have a nasty headache going right now, but I was not going to let this opportunity pass. So the boy came over (the girl couldn't make it) and we started playing.

They decided his half-dragon character could stay with them at their apartment in Nipon Gables. That was fun because they had to figure out how much rent he had to give them. Little did they know they were practicing their math skills. Mwuhahahahaha!

Then they went grocery shopping. They found a Food-2-Go just a few blocks from the Gables. The store lets you select foods to take with you, or foods you can have beamed right to your apartment. That would free them to continue on into the city on their shopping spree without their hands full.

At the store, we learned that you can't just go crazy with the stuff you buy when you're on a limited budget. Lucia the goth human wanted all kinds of crazy coffees and junk food, but when I explained some prices to her and the others weren't willing to share the extra price burden with her, she relented. She did get a good deal on some espresso: 10 servings in a package for $2.11.

Shampoo was also something they wanted. It was especially important for Ramoka, who is 7' tall and all fur. There was some disagreement, however, about what kind of shampoo to buy. Ultimately they agreed on a special hi-tech brand of shampoo that consists of nanobots that analyze your DNA to determine your hair needs. They go on to eat the dirt and bacteria in your hair and excrete whatever chemicals are needed to give your hair (or fur) healthy sheen and full body. These are kids, though, so to amuse them I went on to simplify things by saying the nanobots "eat dirt and poop conditioner." Meanwhile the half-dragon, who doesn't have hair, opted for a $4.35 jar of polish for his scales.

They had considered buying a whole week's supply of food, but the bill for all of them came out to $210. That number shocked them a little, then they figured out that it came out to $30 per day for the four of them. They changed their minds and decided to go with three days of food, but then Lucida, played by my 12-year-old, suggested that they just get four days worth of food instead of three to make it an even $30 for each, so they wouldn't need to "do any math." I enjoyed watching her use math to avoid doing math.

They left the store and decided that they want to buy weapons. "For when we find monsters," they said. This is what we call meta-gaming. In real life, if you moved to this city world, the last thing on your mind would be monsters. When you visit Tokyo, do you buy guns just in case monsters show up? Of course not. The same principal applies here, and yet...this is an action adventure game, and they know it. Of course there will be monsters. So as long as they have the money, I suppose I'll let them buy weapons. They're not going to be happy about the waiting period though, or the requirement that they need steady jobs to qualify.

Once outside the store, they needed a map to find a "weapon store" (their phrase). No problemo, just ask Robot (played by my wife). Robot attempted an online search but determined that she did not have access to the public wi-fi. She was able to connect at the space port because that's just a service the port authority provides. Apparently, outside of that zone, the public wi-fi not entirely paid for with taxes, and $45 per month is required for unlimited access. That's not a bad deal considering it gives you coverage anywhere on the planet. Robot thought it was a good deal, but didn't think it was fair that she should be the only one to pay for it. After all, everyone would be benefitting from internet access. Lucida didn't agree and decided that it would be a simple thing to find a map or ask for directions. With a whirring of gears analogous to a "Hmph!" Robot wheeled away to pursue her own private errands. As did my wife in real life.

The remaining adventure seekers stopped a frog-like person dressed in human garb. I described him as similar to a Narnian marsh-wiggle, except that even though he remains upright on his hind legs, he does squat in between hops, which is his primary mode of transport. Luckily he spoke a common language, though his speech was halted because he had to keep inflating vocal sac to talk. He made fun of them for their alleged need to protect against monsters ("Where are...these monsters?" [pointing to little old lady] "Is that one...a monster? ...Ha ha...ribbit."). Lucida's genetically altered hair, which changes color to reflect her mood, flashed a dangerous shade of red, so frog boy relented and recommended they visit All-Mart. He gave them directions and off they went.

They were just arriving when the boy next door had to go home for dinner. We got maybe 45 minutes of play time in. Ugh.

One other note about this session: Lucida kept saying she didn't need to get a job because she's only a teenager. Fourteen years old, to be exact. We'll see how long that lasts. The others don't seem too keen on supporting her.

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About Me

I am a systems integration consultant working somewhere deep in the bowels of Cubopolis. By night I'm an avid gamer, bass player, tennis player, and amateur herpetologist. I contribute to the education of my three homeschooled daughters by doing something I love: RPG game mastering.